My top 100 songs of the decade

Wednesday

Dec 30, 2009 at 12:01 AMDec 30, 2009 at 3:39 PM

Same disclaimer here as on my albums list: This list is strictly personal, so don't cry if I didn't include your favorite song. However, do chime in with picks you would have included. Lord knows I could have made a 1,000 songs list without much trouble, so there's got to be tons of stuff out there. Special thanks to Jesse Tigges for rounding up the Lala.com embeds for your listening pleasure. Now, let's get into this. I wrote commentary on the top 30 and various picks throughout the rest of the list. Enjoy!

Same disclaimer here as on my albums list: This list is strictly personal, so don't cry if I didn't include your favorite song. However, do chime in with picks you would have included. Lord knows I could have made a 1,000 songs list without much trouble, so there's got to be tons of stuff out there. Special thanks to Jesse Tigges for rounding up the Lala.com embeds for your listening pleasure. Now, let's get into this. I wrote commentary on the top 30 and various picks throughout the rest of the list. Enjoy!

(96) Imogen Heap - "Hide and Seek" Before Jason DeRulo transformed it into a middling dance-pop hit, this mostly a cappella ballad provided emotional depth to The OC's soapy second season finale. Then Andy Samberg used it hilariously to parody that finale on SNL. Hide And Seek - Imogen Heap

(95) At the Drive-In - "Arcarsenal" Teenage me loved this explosive burst of aggression sooooo much. Too bad At the Drive-In soon splintered into the questionable Mars Volta and the unquestionably awful Sparta. Arcarsenal - At The Drive-In

(89) Titus Andronicus - "Upon Viewing Brueghel's Landscape With The Fall Of Icarus" Last December, I wrote: "There's no greater rush in 2008 music than the rising tide of ascending keyboard, skittish guitar and clanging cymbals that brings this song to climax." Upon Viewing Brueghel’s “Lands...

(88) Kanye West - "Paranoid" Last December, I wrote: "Speaking of Mr. West, his breakup album is more of an intriguing artifact than a truly transcendent listen, but the club-hopping middle section — particularly this synth-slathered party bomb — is as great as any of Kanye's more conventional hip-hop offerings." Paranoid - Kanye West

(87) DMX - "Party Up (Up In Here)" And indeed, we did make Earl Simmons lose his mind. But for a while, we had hot hits like this ridiculously profane bit of party rap... Party Up - DMX

(86) Hot Chip - "Boy From School" And I Was A Boy From School - ...

(85) M83 - "Kim and Jessie" Last December, I wrote: "Are we absolutely sure this John Hughes-inspired, synth-drenched pop masterstroke came out this year? It sounds like a relic in the best way possible." Kim & Jessie - M83

(76) Rich Boy feat. Polow Da Don - "Throw Some D's" Perhaps my favorite hip-hop production of the aughts, though the lyrics don't hurt the song's cause, particularly an absolutely ridiculous line about the kind of picture every freak should have on their wall. Throw Some D's Remix - Rich Bo...

(75) Three 6 Mafia - "Stay Fly" Stay Fly (Explicit Album Versi...

(74) Camera Obscura - "Let's Get Out of This Country" Let's Get Out of This Country ...

(72) Nelly - "Ride Wit Me" An unstoppable force in pop for most of this decade, Nelly was never better than this chill party track. "Hey, must be the money!" is a genius hook if I ever heard one. Ride Wit Me - Nelly

(71) T.I. - "What You Know" What You Know - T.I.

(70) Land of Talk - "Some Are Lakes" Last December, I wrote: "Lizzie Powell's melodies hypnotize me, and while this song never seems to get anywhere, it also never gets old." Some Are Lakes - Land Of Talk

(69) The Darkness - "I Believe In a Thing Called Love" This song's absolute quality renders meaningless any question about whether or not it's a piss-take. Rock out, friends! I Believe In A Thing Called Lo...

(68) Gorillaz - "Feel Good Inc." This club rap banger is the best in a line of spooky good singles from Damon Albarn's most productive project of the decade. Feel Good Inc (Album Version) ...

(67) The Shins - "New Slang" All together now: "You gotta hear this one song. It'll change your life, I swear." New Slang - The Shins

(66) T-Pain feat. Yung Joc - "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" Country crossover alert! I love how so many country hits have these big, wordy choruses like they were Harvey Danger songs or something. Buy U A Drank - Yung Joc, T-Pa...

(55) Lil Wayne - "Upgrade U (Freestyle)" Weezy's best work didn't come out on his official LPs: Witness this merciless display of wit, wisdom and weirdness.

(54) The Knife - "Heartbeats" / Jose Gonzalez - "Heartbeats" Talk about two sides to the same coin! Both are beautiful. Heartbeats - The Knife Heartbeats - José González

(53) Do Make Say Think - "The Universe!" The closest thing post-rock has produced to a single, "The Universe!" goes balls-out from start to finish yet still manages to find a sense of dynamics by just making its climaxes bigger and bigger and bigger. The Universe! - Do Make Say Th...

(48) The Thermals - "A Pillar of Salt" In 2006, I wrote: "Brazen, bold and pissed off as hell (at heaven, no less) — that’s how The Thermals brought it in ’06. This track sure made all that dread sound like fun." A Pillar of Salt - The Thermal...

(31) Times New Viking - "(My Head)" Last December, I wrote: "Now, as a year defined by Bon Iver, Frightened Rabbit and Sun Kil Moon comes to a close, this song's charred melody still rings out from the bowels of last winter — 'I need more money 'cause I need more drugs!' My wallet's fine, and I'd rather abstain from the mind-altering substances, but hot damn do I appreciate how TNV lets it all hang out." (My Head) - Times New Viking

(30) Eminem - "Stan" Leave it to Eminem to inject Dido's soft rock slop with some real human emotion. "Stan" runs the full gamut from comedy to shock to bitterness to sorrow. It's one of the great tragic narratives in the pop music canon. Stan - Eminem

(29) A.C. Newman - "On the Table" The most infectious song by the decade's greatest indie pop songwriter. On The Table - A.C. Newman

(28) Primal Scream - "Kill All Hippies" Feel like getting throttled against the wall by a Transformer? Kill All Hippies - Primal Scre...

(27) Spoon - "The Way We Get By" The best piano-man pop song since Billy Joel lost the plot. The Way We Get By - Spoon

(25) Wale - "The Kramer" In December 2008, I wrote: "The best dissection of the N-word I've yet to hear, delivered with cleverness, pizzazz and more than a little melancholy by one of the most promising emcees in the game." Look out for some intense language at the beginning.

(24) Sigur Ros - "Track 4" Cameron Crowe loved this song so much that he used a live version to soundtrack the climactic scene of “Vanilla Sky” because a studio take wasn't available yet. I'm right there with ya, Cam. Sigur 4 (Untitled) (Album Vers...

(23) The Walkmen - "The Rat" Once again, Hamilton Leithauser proves that with a couple pints in him, even rock's prim and proper can spit some furious bile. I don't know who this song is about, but I sincerely hope it isn't me. On the flip side, rallying behind Leithauser's rage is among this decade's great musical pleasures. Almost as cathartic as this next pick... The Rat - The Walkmen

(22) Kelly Clarkson - "Since U Been Gone" / The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Maps" Many folks already connected the dotted line between the gnarly guitar breakdowns in "Maps" and "Since U Been Gone," most notably Ted Leo, who combined the songs into a covers medley a few years back. Regardless of whether Kelly's ode to scorn plagiarized Karen's ode to longing, why not let them share a slot and make room for more music on the list? Huzzah for sharing! Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clar... Maps - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

(21) The Strokes - "Hard to Explain" When I was 18 years old, I bought into Strokes hype hook, line and sinker. Eight years later, I'm not ashamed. Hard To Explain - The Strokes

(20) Jay-Z - "99 Problems" "99 Problems" was the crowning achievement in a decade where Jay-Z reigned as hip-hop's biggest star pretty much from start to finish. Jay is lyrically impeccable, not letting his anger compromise his swagger in the slightest. But the real selling point, of course, is that nasty beat. You crazy for this one, Rick. (Also: I embedded Danger Mouse's “Grey Album” remix that mashes this up with "Helter Skelter." It's as good if not better than Rubin's original track. Believe it.)

(19) Phoenix - "1901" When it appeared on Phoenix's website early this year as a free download, "1901" seemed a sensible lead single. Little by little, it proved itself to be less sensible than sensational, conquering the blogosphere, alternative radio and car commercials and even breaking into Top 40 radio before the calendar ran out. If the unison instrumental blasts and four-to-the-floor beat hadn't sold you already, Thomas Mars' "Fallin', fallin', fallin', fallin'" refrain was there as a last-ditch secret weapon to crack cynics' harsh exterior. 1901 - Phoenix

(18) Mountain Goats - "Woke Up New" The greatest, most quietly hopeful breakup song of the decade. Woke Up New - The Mountain Goa...

(17) The Postal Service - "Such Great Heights" Don't let covers by sensitive folkies and crappy screamo bands obscure the crystalline beauty of the original, a post-millennial update on Aladdin's "A Whole New World" that made Jimmy Tamborello rich and elevated Ben Gibbard to indie heartthrob status. Everything about this track is pitch perfect, from the initial skittering synths to the staccato guitar riff between verses. Such Great Heights - The Posta...

(15) Ludacris - "What's Your Fantasy" The towering thuds that propel this beat could only be used to soundtrack lyrics about getting laid. Fortunately, Ludacris is an expert on the topic, delivering several of the most reliably raunchy lines of the past 10 years, most notably the indelible "Back seat, windows up/ That's the way you like to f***." What's Your Fantasy - Ludacris

(13) Outkast - "Hey Ya" Outkast's biggest pop crossover suffered from overexposure, but who can forget how revelatory the track sounded when it dropped in late summer of '03? Andre 3000 created a near-perfect pastiche of his influences, combining jangly guitar pop with funky electro and preacher-man soul. How cool did "Hey Ya" seem back then? Ice cold. And, returning to the track after some time away, it's still a monster jam, a pop anomaly unlike anything else we heard this decade. Hey Ya! (Radio Mix/Club Mix) -...

(12) MGMT - "Kids" Every one of these MGMT hits was played to death, and for good reason: Late in the decade they emerged as one of this era's top singles acts. But where I'm actively avoiding "Time To Pretend" and "Electric Feel" right now, I still can't get enough of "Kids." The keyboard riff and chord progression are so simple it's almost dumbfounding. It shouldn't be this magnetic. Yet it's all presented so sleekly and luxuriously that when the chorus comes around again for some reason at the end, I feel like waving the band on for a few more laps. Kids - MGMT

(11) Badly Drawn Boy - "Once Around the Block" When I first heard "Once Around the Block" on one of those CMJ sampler CDs, I rushed to obtain the album as soon as possible, and surely enough, it was packed with kitchen-sink pop moments nearly as good. But none of them unseated my first love. From the wah-wah jazz chords to the spritely solo to the choral waterfall to the vibraphone outro, "Once Around the Block" is a wispy delight, a song sure to brighten my mood under just about any circumstances. Once Around The Block - Badly ...

(10) TV on the Radio - "Wolf Like Me" Riding a bassy keyboard drone, insistent guitar noise and the most straightforward drum beat of TV on the Radio's career, Tunde Adebimpe cuts loose with an ecstatic call to arms, stopping just short of a howl at the moon. This song makes me want to go crazy in the best way possible. Wolf Like Me - TV On The Radio

(09) Britney Spears - "Toxic" The best single of Britney's career and the best dance pop track I heard this decade, "Toxic" snapped, crackled and popped, with razor-sharp strings slicing between guitar and synth beats that hit so hard they snap. That nasty guitar lick after the chorus is as intoxicating as the illicit lover Britney's singing to. Toxic - Bloodshy, Avant, Britn...

(07) LCD Soundsystem - "All My Friends" That incessant plinking piano chord grabs you from the start, lulling you into the sort of hypnotic trance where nostalgia can really take hold. Then James Murphy starts feeding you all this sentimental mumbo jumbo about the looming shadow of the good old days, carefully crafting a collage of reminders. All My Friends - LCD Soundsyst...

(05) Beirut - "Postcards From Italy" At first it's exotic. Like most of Zach Condon's music, "Postcards From Italy" sounds like it was plucked from some ancient Balkan field recording, marching along with rhythmic bass harrumphs, ukulele strums and ceremonial trumpet harmonies leading the parade. Then, halfway through, the trumpet switches to a distinctly Western melody, and suddenly this foreign anomaly has become familiar. As Condon lets loose with that same exultant melody, the song explodes into one of the decade's most memorable climaxes. Postcards From Italy - Beirut

(05) Animal Collective - "My Girls" Last spring, after acknowledging Animal Collective's reputation for appealing exclusively to nerdy, BitTorrent-obsessed blog readers, I remarked: "I'm continually surprised at how many normal folks hear this song and immediately fall in love with it, seduced by the siren of Brian Wilson-style melodies riding a polyrhythmic club banger through space. 2009 music has seen no moment more joyous than when the beat drops in the chorus and a gaggle of giddy Animal associates shout 'Woooo!'" Those sentiments continue to ring true. My Girls - Animal Collective

(04) R. Kelly - "Ignition (Remix)" R. Kelly wasn't kidding later this decade when he proclaimed himself the king of R&B. I could go on and on about what makes Kells' absurdist lothario shtick so superb and why this song in particular is one of the greatest party jams of all time, but why not let The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle do it? Ignition (Remix) - R Kelly

(03) UGK feat. Outkast - "International Players Anthem" Not sure why so many months of indifference passed before I fell in love with this monumental single. It's four of the world's finest MCs giving banner performances over an irresistible soul sample — what's not to adore? Eventually I caved to its charms, and "Int'l Players Anthem" rocketed in rotation, dominating my car stereo for months on end and permeating my consciousness even when the track wasn't playing. It's a joyous, endlessly quotable, technically marvelous display, and thanks to Pimp C's untimely death, we'll never see anything quite like it again. Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose...

(02) Wilco - "Jesus, etc." For all the talk of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot as Wilco's difficult record, the song at the album's core is as straightforward as they come, a lilting country ballad about tall buildings trembling, voices crying and the desperate pleasure of last cigarettes. To be honest, I still don't know what Jeff Tweedy's singing about, though "Our love is all we have" seems like a pretty strong hint. It doesn't much matter; just about any subject matter would sound gorgeous set to those melancholy chords and piercing violin. Jesus, etc. (LP Version) - Wil...

(01) Outkast - "B.O.B." "B.O.B." sounded ahead of its time nine years ago, and it sounds just as far ahead of the curve today. The ensuing decade saw no single as inspiring, confounding and energizing as Outkast's triumphant tour de force. B.O.B. - OutKast